Tuesday, November 27, 2012

So.....it's obvious what I do in those spare hours of my night just before I drift off into a Matlock or sometimes banana split induced slumber.

I make jewelry.

Sometimes I make homemade Christmas decorations.

But mostly, I make jewelry.

Do you have any idea what I do before I do what I really wanna do?

As in, what my big girl, daytime job is?

I don't talk about it much; it's just a job. Nothing special like brain surgeon or professional cheerleader, but occasionally it has it's noteworthy moments.

Like today.

I work for a New York State Senator handling constituent issues. If someone in the district has a problem with something me and a few others try to solve it. Problems range from the genuine to ridiculous, but for the most part I leave with a sense of doing good by others.

I also leave and figuratively beat my head against a wall.

There's just something about being complained to every single day....

Usually, though, there's a case that comes around every other week or so that makes what I do worth it. I've helped one girl get back on her feet after being left homeless, another I helped to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in agency fines on her business.

Today on the phone I came across a real gem that just might get me through the week:

"Thanks a lot for your help. What's your name again?"

"Stacie."

"Casey?"

"Stacie."

"Tracy??"

"No, STACIE."

"Ooooh, Stacie.......I had a lover in high school named Stacie. God was she hot."

I'll get right to the point, I desperately need my smartphone back. Like a dope I gave it up for a simple talk//text phone early this year. I felt I was too attached to instant email//facebook//twitter//Youtube videos of dogs in shoes and people being startled by things jumping out of them.

Seriously, so funny.

I was constantly wondering "ohmigosh did she get back to my email??" or "ohmigosh did anyone like my photo??" or even "ohmigosh what could all of my twitter friends be doing right this very second!?"

Everything is always "ohmigosh!!!" in my head, by the way....and occasionally out of my head.

So there I would sit at my desk, on the couch, In. My. Sleep, wanting to check my phone for updates. It was too much. I felt disconnected to the world and what was going on around me. Super cheesy, but I really was addicted and I don't like to be addicted to too many things at once.

It wasn't hard to give up my smartphone. I still had access to a computer and the internet most times throughout the day. I never had pressing emails that needed immediate attention and I could almost always wait to see that picture of your cat on facebook doing that thing in the thing, hilarious.

But every now and then I would venture out by myself and wouldn't you know it something mind blowing would happen. Like I would get humongous pancakes. Or Oliver would pee on a political sign with absolutely no urging by me I swear. These are the moments I had to learn to paint mental pictures of on facebook or blogs or in emails to people who know I tell tedious stories and still love me the same.

And that's fine. I got used to it.

But that, I think, is negatively impacting this business I'm trying to grow.

I'm not talking about how I'm suffering from not being able to post pictures of the pile of vomit outside my office with a caption of "ohmigosh grossest thing EV-ER." By not being able to bring my friends and customers and potential customers into my world and my day I'm neglecting that relationship (however one-sided, which is ok by me, I can just keep talking and talking and talking and talk.....) and my business.

Heck, half of the reason I don't blog or facebook more often is because I'm so frustrated I don't have pictures of those random moments in the fabric store where I swear that print looks like wieners, and how can I just tell you about something like that??

I can't believe I just wrote wieners. Does that make me PG-13?

And twitter? Same frustration. I mean, not with wien....indicators, but other random events I can't share as they happen.

**sigh**

I tried to take a step back from this technology bubble but I'm going to get left out. My smartphone day is coming (back) soon and when I have that sweet, sweet gadget in my hands....

Monday, November 19, 2012

I'm normally not too keen on wrapping up my weekends here, mostly because nothing happens besides the typical 30hr felting session//craft show//zombie movie marathon//remembering loved ones who have passed. But this past weekend was just too much to not share.

Too. Much.

Day One: my very first auction. I can't find the words...no I can find the words, I just can't arrange them into a sentence that conveys how exciting this was for me.

Thank you bullets:

I love junk.

I love to repurpose junk.

I love working for my junk.

I love a good deal.

I love old stuff.

I love watching people.

I love imagining why anyone would want German woodcut figurines.

I love out-of-the-ordinary activities.

While driving home with my mom, my sister, our junk, and her 1860's drop leaf table she got for $17.50thankyouverymuch:

"Hi honey (this is my mom on the phone to my dad), we're just on our way home from an auction......Yeah, an auction. Stacie dragged us to it......(to me) Your father said that had you written all over it."

I may or may not have ended up with $13 in goods by way of a paddle-happy sister. But in her defense she was sure I needed a gold framed oval mirror.

Also Day One:Mr. Oliver T. Lucas is now the proud owner of a brand new rain jacket!

He hates it, but we are hoping he'll grow to appreciate it on those days we would normally have to call off walks due to inclement weather (drizzle).

"Yay, Oliver has a rain jacket!"

"Yaaay....you do realize this means we have to walk him in the rain, right?"

"......oh."

One More Thing About Day One: turkey sandwich.

What?! It was a great sandwich.

Day Two: shopping and holiday coffee and nap and zombies.

At the end of this day I had Christmas gift ideas, one shirt I don't need, another shirt I'll wear once this year, peppermint mocha in my belly, one hour of uninterrupted snuggle time with the dog, and my weekly fix of zombie apocalypse.

At The Very End of Day Two: banana split.

My current vice. Don't judge.

...

Of course there was some work to be done. Which I did. Because those four necklaces, 13 baby headbands and acorn ornaments can't make themselves, am I right? or am I right?! or am I right?!?

Friday, November 16, 2012

If I had to sum up my latest craft show on the campus of Plattsburgh State in northeastern New York in just one Twitter post it would read:

Great time with the most creative and positive vendors; a variety of shoppers and so many of them; met many wonderful inspiring people that I can't wait to keep in contact with; and just the right mix of DMB and Alvin and the Chipmunks over the loudspeakers.

But then I would be 128 characters over the limit, and you know what they say....

...well, they say you can only use 140 characters, so to sum up the summary:

Plattsburgh....yay!﻿

I don't tweet much. It's probably better that way.

But I digress.

.....

Hello!

See my face here? This is what we all look like after a full day of smiling. All day, smiling.

"Hello! How are YOU!?"

"HI! Good to SEE you!"

"Love that jacket, I just LOVE that jacket!!"

This is the world of vending.

It's easy to picture the excitement of it: a crowd of people swarming and openly admiring your work, the exhilaration of making a sale. This is the feeling that keeps us all coming back for more; I mean, besides the actual income generated. But what's money spent on a Chipotle rice bowl compared to the thrill of verbal affirmation....right?

Am I right??

But what about those times when the crowd is reduced to a slow trickle of shoppers? When the thrill is gone and the unavoidable lull sets in?

The following is like those stories from moms to soon-to-be-moms about how much your feet are going to swell or where you might find bulging purple veins. You know, the unpleasantries no one tells you before you get involved but forget after it's all over because "it's just so beautiful!"

This is what happens in....The Down Time:

You think about snacks.

It's overwhelming. When is it ok to get your next helping of sausage and peppers and where is it going to come from. Also, which kind of pie will it be followed by.

You realize your feet hurt.

Standing all day does a number on the tootsies. You don't notice it when you're laughing and chatting with customers, but when you have a chance to think, you think about foot massages.

You try to talk yourself out of buying that.

That shirt you'll never wear at this booth, that glass bowl you'll never use at that booth, that sock bunny the dog will end up destroying at the booth over there. You will not be successful. But you will leave with most of your Christmas shopping for yourself done.

You mentally calculate your sales.

After every other sale. Why not? Was this show worth it? you'll ask yourself. Or more importantly, have I made enough profit to get that glass bowl??

You sit down.

This feels so good toward the end of the day you start to wonder if you really need to stand up and greet your customers or if everyone is better off if you hide behind your displays and leave them to browse in peace.

You rearrange your display.

Several times. What is working? What isn't working? What can I do so I have something to do?

You plan your tear down strategy.

"How do I get out of here and into pjs as quickly as possible?" No matter what kind of day/weekend you had, toward the end you will not be able to stop thinking about how great that flannel pajama set will feel in a nap, and you will do as much tear-down prep as you can three hours before the end of the show.

...

But at the end of it all, when you're laying under the covers wrapped in flannel you smile to yourself as you try to remember when the deadline is for the next show and why in the world are you taking a nap when there's so much work to be done for it.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Liebster Award, which is, uh, an award for those who excel in the art of, um, blogging. Sensibly.

No, it's not.

Well, it might be.

Natalie from The Cat Lady Sings nominated yours truly because I fit the criteria of 1) must be under 200 followers (check: I have four) and what I assume to be 2) because I really am part of the cool kids club.

Also, because we're soul sistas from the LBC. Represent. Except, if we were real sisters, she would be like the older prettier one who has all the boyfriends because she's the super volleyball star and doesn't say awkward things when nervous. In other words, she's like a much better version of me.

Hmmm, and why is it you only have four followers....?

Anyway, with this award, as many of you may already know, comes a few stipulations: like offering up firstborns and running around my house in my underwear, but because it's a little chilly up here in the frozen tundra of upstate New York I'll settle for following the following:

You must thank the person who gave you this award.

Thank you, Natalie. This is fun!

You must display the Liebster heart on your blog.

Check. See above.

You should nominate 3 to 5 up-and-coming blogs (with less than 200 subscribers).

Sassin' Southern Style Erin is funny, people. The witty kind of funny that only smart people can master, smart people who take chemistry classes on purpose.

Married Filling Joint Kathryn's posts are all over the place with books and food and whatever pops into her head, which is just what my scattered brain needs. Plus her husband is a band director, which allows me to relive my days as a marching trombonist.

Post 11 things about yourself.

1) My hair is pretty long, you wouldn't know it b/c I wear it up every single day. 2) My sisters and I don't look anything alike. 3) I have an addiction to nail polish. 4) My middle name is Jo. 5) I just realized my dream career is anything that doesn't require eight straight hours of work. 6) In other words, I need variety. 7) When I was younger I thought two men lived under my bed: one small brainy man and his big, brawny sidekick. They had machine guns. Every night I would run and jump onto my bed and I'd picture the little guy smacking the big guy for "missing her again!!"8) I have a vivid imagination. 9) I'm hard on myself. 10) I'd like to live in a foreign country for a year. 11) My favorite TV show is anything science fiction.

Answer the questions the person giving the award has sent you.

Did you ever have a teacher who yelled at/embarrassed/totally ruined you for life? If so, tell the story. My second semester design teacher in college would yell at me for not being prepared class. Like I should have known I was going to have an idea that required black doll hair before going to class, for cryin' out loud. She is part of the reason I changed my major.

What is your dream career? Making stuff. All kinds of stuff. A variety, if you will.

Unicorn or Sasquatch for president? Sasquatch for so many reasons: he can physically beat the snot out of our enemies, all of them; he doesn't give a hoots patoot what you think of him; and I doubt he'll cave to the demands of special interest groups.

What is your most embarrassing habit? I tend to "check out" from time to time. I have a blank stare that one friend told me was creepy.

If you could have one talent that you do not currently have, what would it be? Oh how I wish I could sing. I mean, I do sing, but I think I'd like to be good at it.

If you could only bring three things on a deserted island, what would they be? A ship, a ship captain, and a book. I'm not a big fan of being deserted anywhere. At least without something to read.

Favorite guilty pleasure? RomComs. Maid in Manhattan, I die.

What kind of car do you drive, and what do you think that says about you? Hyundai Tucson, it says this girl likes to drive a car that no one will ever notice.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would be less thinky. I over analyze every. single. thing. an. y. one. says.

Favorite Disney movie? The Little Mermaid, although those little swampy people still terrify me.

Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.

1) What did you want to be when you grew up? 2) Are you...that? 3) Favorite book and why? 4) If you could have any accent, what would it be? 5) What food can you just not stomach? 6) What is your favorite chore? 7) Least favorite chore? 8) What would you do with $10,000? 9) If you had an unlimited supply of empty toilet paper rolls, what would you do with them? 10) Favorite childhood memory? 11) Where do you want to be in 5 years?

Choose 11 people to award and send them the link to your post. Go to their page and tell them.

This feels redundant, so I'm going to skip it. I hope that doesn't jeopardize my award....